The power of zooming out and working 'on' your business

Welcome back to the StartUp Creative Podcast and the first episode for 2024. On today's episode I caught up with Odette Barry who has been a long time network/friend from the creative entrepreneur world. We got chatting on Instagram about our morning routines and thought it would make for a great conversation about how different they were and how important it is to find the right routine that works for you so as to better your chances of success. Odette and I share what personally motivates us along with some research and resources that help us create lasting habits.    She also recommends this breathing app to help regulate your nervous system.    Check out more of Odette's work    odetteandco.com.au  

On today's episode I caught up with Brooke who is one of the 6 founders of Sharesies, an online platform and app that’s aim is make investing easy and accessible to someone who haas $5 or $5 million dollars to spend. I first saw Brooke talk at Purpose Conference in October 2023 and was instantly inspired by and intrigued about the company’s mission. Not only have they broken new ground in the investing world but they’re a purpose driven business looking to support and empower all people with financial independence. Brooke shares how the platform works as well as what it took to build a business that didn’t exist, how they’ve built consumer and stakeholder trust all while staying true to their brand values. 

On today's episode I share the behind the scenes of creating my new online course 'Start Your Side Hustle' my first online course 2017. If you've been thinking about a way to set up passive income for your business to help you scale and automate your current offerings, I'll teach you how to get started and share exactly how I set mine up. I'll cover: how to come up with your course idea  setting up your course  a formula for creating your online course  marketing and sales of your course  Check out 'Start Your Side Hustle' the online course on our website now and look forward to meeting you in the class. 

On today's episode we share a recent IG live chat I had with content creation pro Lucy Lumen who makes content and builds communities on Substack, Instagram and YouTube. I quiz Lucy on how she keeps up, her tips for creating across different platforms and for different audiences, we share our planning and content creation schedules or lack of and how we approach social media of late. Lucy started her YouTube channel as a creative side project when she first had her child and has managed to build her following to almost 20K subscribers on YouTube alone. She now makes content for brands and sells courses and advice for other photographers and has an abundance of amazon straight-up and relatable tips for those struggling with content creation in their own businesses and looking for ideas to get them inspired. 

On today's episode I caught up with the business boss herself, FlexMami. We recently had the pleasure of Flex speaking at our Make Your Mark: How to market yourself online event in collaboration with Squarespace. Flex shared her incredible insights, wisdom and opinions about what it really takes to build an online following, how she prefers to diversify her skillsets across multiple platforms, what role her website plays in her business as well as her approach to social media. Flex gives some really good advice  for those looking to start and scale their personal brands and businesses and the process she uses for deciding what to do next in her career.  Her career has led her in many different directions from author, influencer, DJ, Logie nominated TV presenter and many more accolades but it all started with some good old fashioned hustle. An inspiring and entertaining chat with one of the best in the game.  https://www.flexmami.com/

On today's episode I spoke to Alexis Fernadez, author and podcast host of DYFM.    Alexis is a neuroscientist, mindset coach, best-selling author and host of Do You F*****g Mind? - a podcast that mixes neuroscience, psychology and tough love altogether. Alexis started the podcast halfway through her masters degree in neuroscience as a way to be able to share what she was learning and as a way to connect with an audience who wanted to work on themselves. We recently met on the Make Your Mark: How to market your business online event in collaboration with Squarespace. Alexis shares so much straight up business advice about how she started her podcast while studying neuroscience and after 7 months she left her job and became a full time podcaster. She shares some of the highs and lows of starting a business from meeting her beans at the event and how she's built such a loyal following, her tips for carving out your niche in the business space and sticking to your brand values. As well as lots of insightful mindset hacks and how she keeps herself motivated and inspired. Check out her work on her website and podcast.   https://www.dyfmpod.com https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/do-you-f-ing-mind/id1502954097

On today's episode I dive into a popular topic for many creative entrepreneurs; comparison. I share a personal experience I had with comparing myself to others' success and the tools I use to help me avoid a negative downward spiral of self-doubt. I share some insights into how we can use comparison as a positive on our business journey to help us realign our goals and dreams and start working towards them as well as tips for catching the negative side of comparison so as to not sabotage ourselves. 

On today's podcast I caught up with a long time client, friend and fellow author Amy Lovat. You may recognise her from Secret Book Club, a business she started with her partner years ago. Amy shares her incredible journey to accomplishing a 30 year dream of becoming a published author. She shares very generously about how she took 11 years to write her first novel, the mindset and support she leant on to  keep her going when she wanted to give up. We dive into the inspiration behind her debut novel 'Mistakes and Other Lovers' and her advice for creatives striving to make their dreams a reality.    Grab a copy of Amy's book  https://amylovat.com

Today’s guest is Daniel Flynn, co founder of Thankyou, a business I was fortunate enough to come across many years ago when they first started out as Thankyou Water. Since then Daniel and his team have built a globally recognised social enterprise on a mission to end extreme poverty. In this episode Daniel shares the journey they’ve taken to reimagine their business model many times over. From expanding into products, taking on the big supermarkets to get stocked, harnessing the power of social media and their audience to support their mission and more recently taking the company to the global stage. An insightful episode about what it really takes to build a brand that lasts, sticking to your brand values and what you set out to achieve no matter how many hurdles and temptations to divert your encounter and taking care of your mental health as a founder.  Check out Thankyou and the work their doing https://thankyou.co